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Teachers Don’t Like Bumping, Either

As reported by Linda Borg in today’s Providence Journal, Superintendent Evans convened the newly revived “Teachers’ Council” yesterday, to hear teachers’ views about problems in the public schools, and their potential solutions. Teachers expressed concerns about the condition of facilities, funding problems, curriculum and other issues. We at ESPEC were very interested to hear that bumping is not just a concern for parents. Teachers apparently don’t like it either.

Bumping, the process by which teachers with more seniority displace those with less, generated a lot of complaints. ….

Teachers said they are extremely frustrated because they have no control over their futures. Even senior teachers are losing their classrooms this year. In some cases, a fourth grade teacher is assigned to teach first grade because the certification is the same. That teacher, however, might love fourth grade and have little interest in teaching 6-year-olds. In other cases, teachers are bumped from schools where they have worked for years because of the bumping process.

Not only is the teacher’s life disrupted, but, if enough teachers are transferred, the entire teaching culture is undermined.

“This is not in the best interest of the School Department or the teachers,” said Tracy Carcamo from Lima Annex Elementary School. “Now, you’re looking at teachers who have to do something they don’t want to do. We have to find a better way of doing this.”

“Talk about morale,” said Thomas Morra, a science teacher at Mount Pleasant High School. “How can you keep quality people if every year you keep laying them off? There is no continuity.”

Evans said he was as frustrated by the system as the teachers.

“I agree that the process stinks,” he said. “We are seeking to do things differently.”

We look forward to hearing more from Dr. Evans about how the Providence Public School Department will change contracts and PPSD procedures to end the massive and unnecessary layoffs, and subsequent reshuffling of teachers. We hope that the bill that we’ve submitted to the state legislature will help move this forward on the state level.